Carlsbad kicked off construction this week for its largest park yet, a military veterans memorial with a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities on rolling hills overlooking the Agua Hedionda Lagoon and the Pacific Ocean.
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The 93.7-acre Veterans Memorial park near Faraday Avenue and Cannon Road, the geographic center of the city, will include tributes to all branches of military service.
Also planned are a bicycle park with a pump track and spectator seating, a 16-foot-tall sculpture called “The Ring,” picnic and viewing areas, exercise stations, and trails linked to a citywide system. About half the park property will be preserved as open space.
City officials celebrated the start of construction Monday with a groundbreaking by Carlsbad City Council members along with Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, and Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, D-Encinitas.
“It’s a great honor to serve our veterans in any way we can, and this park is a great commemoration to them,” Levin said in a social media post.
Levin secured a $3 million federal grant for the project from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Boerner obtained a $5 million grant from the State of California Natural Resources Agency.
Planning, design, engineering, environmental studies, construction and related project costs are budgeted at about $58 million, according to city officials. About $50 million collected by the city in developers’ fees is available for the park project, though some of that could be covered by state and federal grants.
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Brightview Landscape Development was awarded a $39 million contract in February to build key features of the park. Construction is expected to take about two years.
The City Council approved a master plan for the park in 2022. In July 2024, the council approved a $1.6 million contract with the Oregon-based company Romtec, Inc. for three pre-engineered buildings in “kits” to be erected in the park with restrooms, offices, and maintenance, concession and storage rooms.
“This park was thoughtfully designed to reflect what our community told us they wanted,” said city Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Lancaster in a news release. “It will provide a range of amenities and open spaces that support both active use and quiet reflection, while creating a meaningful place to honor our nation’s veterans.”
Construction will include the addition of left-turn lanes at each of the two entrances to the park from Faraday Avenue, along with new road striping and enhanced bike lanes.
Carlsbad has owned the vacant land since at least the 1980s. It was part of a 400-acre parcel that included pieces used to build Faraday Avenue and The Crossings 18-hole golf course that the city opened in 2007.
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